Many of today's portable electronic devices require coupling to another electronic device or an electrical component. One example is coupling an AC/DC power adapter to a laptop computer to supply power to the laptop computer motherboard. Inside the laptop computer, a connector to receive the AC/DC power adapter is soldered to the motherboard of the laptop computer. The connector protrudes from through the laptop computer case, often out of the back of the computer case. The power adapter has a cable with a mating connector to plug into the back of the laptop. Although the power adapter cable is flexible, most cables have a hard, molded plastic end which provides a means for a user to grip the end of the connector. When the power adapter connector is inserted into the back of the laptop computer, the hard molded plastic end of the cable protrudes from the back of the laptop. If the laptop is accidentally tipped backward, the hard molded end of the power adapter cable and its connector are forced upward by the surface upon which the laptop rests. This essentially pries up the corresponding mating connector off of the laptop motherboard. This failure mechanism is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Even one such instance can be enough to cause the solder joints which couple the mating connector to the laptop motherboard to fail electrically and/or mechanically, rendering the power adapter connection inoperable or intermittent. The repair of such a failure is typically outside the skills of the laptop computer user. Further, the repair cost is typically high and the repair time is long, often measured in weeks. Electronic devices with external electrical connectors soldered to their circuit boards can easily incur costly, time consuming failures through normal use.